Finally, justice and questions

Tuesday

Jun 26, 2012 at 12:01 AMJun 26, 2012 at 6:00 AM

There’s no denying the eerie irony of Jerry Sandusky and William Lynn being convicted on the same day. There also is no denying how welcome the news was that justice, so long in waiting, finally had been delivered. We can only hope that the victims, young and defenseless when they were violated, were fortified by the news — and that the justice will have far-reaching institutional impact.

As reporter Hilary Bentman noted in our story about local reaction to the verdicts, “Both cases involved allegations of sexual assault of boys, and in both instances, the accused were men of authority and reverence.” Likewise, both cases involved “powerful institutions closing ranks and handling the problems internally.”

Sandusky, convicted on 45 counts of sexually assaulting 10 boys, was a nationally renowned football coach at Penn State University. Lynn, 61, was a monsignor with the Philadelphia archdiocese, where he was accused of transplanting pedophile priests from one parish to another to avoid their arrest and prosecution — and the awful publicity the arrests would ignite. For his role, Lynn was found guilty of child endangerment, thus becoming the first U.S. Catholic Church official convicted of a crime for his handling of sex abuse allegations against priests.

Lynn faces upwards of seven years in jail. Sandusky, 68, will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.

Good riddance.

And hopefully, good riddance to the circle-the-wagons sort of response the Catholic Church has resorted to for decades when faced with allegations that priests had preyed on children, usually young boys. But such is the secretive nature of the Catholic Church and so endemic are the abuses that have been going on perhaps for centuries, that little might change.

That said, there are at least some indications that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, under the direction of new leadership, is finally adopting policies and practices that will rightly expose predator priests to the criminal justice system. What’s more, Lynn’s conviction should make it clear to those in powerful positions with the Church all across the country that the “just-following-orders” defense won’t keep prosecutors at bay or jurors in check.

As for Sandusky, the verdict might be just the tip of the iceberg. Much more could come out, including a possible cover-up on the part of Penn State officials — powerful people with much influence on state government. For that reason, we question whether this investigation can be handled fairly “in house” by state investigators, given the pervasiveness of the Penn State culture. An independent prosecutor with no ties to the state may be necessary.

In both PSU’s case and especially that of the Church, protecting the institution cannot remain the prime objective of those holding positions of leadership. These landmark cases should help change that mindset — if they haven’t already. Only time will tell. Meanwhile, at least the brave victims who remained silent for so many years have gotten the justice they so richly deserved. Would that they are the last.

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